Ars Amatoria's Challenege: World's Collide SkyZ
by ShootingStars94
Summary: This is a story about Sky and Z using Ars Amatoria's Romance Theme Challenge. The story will take place before the defeat of Grumm progress from there. Read and leave a Review; I know this is not a well written summary but I hope you enjoy this.
1. Friends

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in the story they do not belong to me I am just using them toward my story.

"Can't you just stop being full of yourself for one day and try to enjoy time with your friends" shouted a very annoyed female comrade in her yellow SPD uniform.

"Friends?" scoffed the young man in the blue SPD uniform, "I don't have friends; I have my co-workers."

"Okay that's enough of this you two", came a third voice from aside as he looked to both his comrades "Z, Sky cut it or you will both be running the mud track on my orders."

Both Sky and Z looked at each other with wide eyes and then much to both of their dismay shook hands and called a truce. "Now that's more like it; now make Jack a sandwich while you both are at it" Jack himself had said with a grin and then before he knew it he got punched in both his shoulders. One from Z and the other from Sky; he shrugged it off and said "Fine don't make me one I will just have to lead this team on empty stomach."

"When isn't your stomach empty?" snickered Sky which got him a glare from Jack and a slight laugh from Z.

"Alright, alright Sky I see how it is. You just mad still that I got your daddy's job" Jack threw back at the blue ranger before realizing what he said was too personal and before he could even say anything the blue ranger had fled from the common room.

Z looked to Jack and then slapped him upside the head, "How are we ever going to get him to be a better part of this team if you throw around comments like that at him" Z scolded Jack as if he were a child. "He's never going to accept us as friends if we keep throwing comments like that at him and he throws our past as being street kids and criminals before coming here."

"I know Z, I know I didn't mean to say it" Jack responded glumly, "I will go talk to him about it and say sorry and everything."

"No I'll go, the last person he going to want to talk to is you after that" Z said with a sigh and headed out the common room in search of her blue friend.

xxxxxxx

After his quick departure of the common room Sky had basically sped off to the gym. He saw the gym as his only vice when dealing with comments that involved his father. Sky went straight to the bench press and added more weight to what was already placed on it. Then he took his headphones out from his pocket and started to blast music into his ear. Laying down on the bench press he lifted up the bar with ease from its holding place and started his reps.

xxxxxxx

The first place Z went in search for Sky was his room; she knocked on the door but to no avail got an answer. Sighing heavily she tried to think of where he would go and then it dawned on her that maybe he went to run the mud course after all. So Z headed outside to where the courses were and looked toward the mud course, but no sign of Sky. There was only one other place Z could think Sky would have gone and made her way to the gym. As she entered the gym she saw Sky with his headphones in his ears and he was moving from the bench press to the leg press. It looked as though he was off in his own world; so Z decided to go behind his seat on leg press and pull out his headphones. "Hey there muscle man" Z said with a grin.

Sky taken aback by the sudden disappearance of the sound of music in his ear and then hearing his teammate made him jump, "Jesus Z, haven't you heard of not creeping up on people when they working out" Sky said slightly annoyed.

"Oh come on Sky, Jack was just being stupid and he didn't mean it" Z said in an assuring matter. "He wasn't thinking Sky and you know that, plus don't let him get to you and in all honesty we are trying to be your friends Sky really."

"I know he was being stupid but it still a low blow for me but Z how can we ever be friends if we barely no each other" Sky said with a sigh as he got up from the leg press seat.

"Then lets try to be friends, come on Sky it not going to kill you" Z responded and offered her hand for a shake.

Hesitantly Sky extended his hand forward and shook Z's, "To the start of mending friendship" Sky said with a nod.

"That's the spirit blue boy, mending friendship" Z grinned and the tussled Sky's hair with her free hand.

"Yeah friendship" Sky said with a genuine smile and he knew that this new attempt at friendship was a new start for Z, Jack and himself. Although somehow he was hoping that maybe the friendship would become more than just a friend.


	2. Home

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in the story they do not belong to me I am just using them toward my story.

Home… It was somewhere he had kept his distance from since his enrollment in SPD all those years ago. He barely saw or even spoke with his mother; being home for him was worst for him because all he thought about was his father. Then he got the call saying he needed to come home.

_Sky walked into his room after hitting the gym and heard the phone in his room go off and he went over to it and picked it up, "Hello?" Sky said somewhat confused with who would be calling._

"_Is this Sky Tate's room?" A man's voice can be heard from the other line. The man's voice sounded old and very familiar to Sky. Then it dawned on him it was his butler Hobson._

"_This is Sky Tate, is that you Hobson?" Sky asked to verify his suspicions about the man on other line being Hobson._

"_Master Tate this is splendid well not so much for the cause of this call" Hobson said in a very calm and soothing voice one of which reminded Sky of when his butler spoke to him when his father died._

"_What is the matter Hobson? Is everything alright?" Sky asked in a worried tone, he had gotten a bad feeling._

"_Master Sky you need to come home… I'm afraid your mother is sick" Hobson said in the most casual way he could possibly think of._

_Sky was astonished he couldn't find words he felt himself literally freeze, "I'll be there as soon as I can Hobson" and without even a goodbye he hung up his phone and sat onto his bed in complete shock._

With a sigh Sky went to his closet and took out his blue duffle bag and started to put clothing inside of it. He didn't want to go home; not under this type of circumstance but more importantly he didn't want to go home and face this alone, but he had to. As Sky started throwing stuff into his duffle bag the door to his room slid open and in walked Bridge. "Hey Sky, where you going? We suppose to go and play games and eat popcorn and watch a movie and enjoy our weekend off" Bridge said with enthusiasm "But then again I guess if you leave we are going to end up having to conversation about how you left and wonder where you were going and then we will go and do all the fun stuff and…"

"Okay Bridge I get it but I have to leave Bridge. I am sorry that I can't be around for our free weekend to spend time together as a team but something came up" Sky said trying to let Bridge know he gave his sincerest apologies.

"What's wrong Sky? Do you need help with something?" Bridge asked curious now as to what was going on with his best friend and fellow ranger.

"Bridge… don't let the other's know I don't want them to worry about me, but it's my mom she is sick I am using this weekend to go see her" Sky said with a somewhat shaky tone and then with a shake of his head he continued to put more clothes into his duffle bag.

"Oh gee Sky I am sorry… I'll go tell the other's you can't come and we can go and start without you" Bridge said with a frown, "But when you come back your bestest buddy Bridge is going to make you a nice big plate of extremely buttery toast" Bridge grinned and headed out of the room and to the common room so that Sky could have his time alone and pack his duffle bag. Upon entering the common room he saw the rest of his fellow teammates all waiting for him to come into the common room with Sky. Once they realized there was no Sky with them they all gave Bridge a face.

"Where's Sky? Didn't you go get him Bridge?" Jack asked Bridge with a curious suspicion rising, "Let me guess he doesn't do have fun when we actually all have free time together?"

Z laughed at what Jack said and then replied, "Or maybe he begged the commander for work" Z grinned and then gave Jack a high-five.

Syd couldn't help but giggle at the comments Jack and Z had made about Sky; after-all it was all in good fun. Then Syd looked to Bridge and noticed he had a solemn look about him and wasn't getting any form of laugh out of what was said. "What's wrong Bridgey; Jack and Z are just kidding you know that" Syd said in concern for her friend.

"I know you guys are all laughing about this and just having innocent fun, but Sky can't come because of a serious problem. It sort of makes me sad that you all are able to laugh about it" Bridge said with a frown as the others looked at him confused.

"What's wrong with Sky?" Z asked immediately after hearing Bridge say that there was a serious problem with Sky. She was concerned for Sky seeing as her and Sky had gotten very close since their talk about becoming better friends.

"Well… you see there's a situation of which Sky needs to not be here and he told me to keep quiet about it and he just is not in a good place and…" Bridge started rambling on about the situation but was then shaken by Z to make him stop.

"Bridge tell us what is wrong and stop rambling, we are bound to find out sooner or later" Z said as calmly as possible to Bridge.

Bridge was slightly taken aback and then nodded to Z, "You see Sky… his mom is sick and he needs to go see her…" Bridge said as calmly as he could about what was wrong with Sky.

"Oh Bridgey that's horrible especially since he already lost his father, what if he loses his mom now too" Syd said as she was clearly upset about this news.

"Oh wow, now I kind of feel bad for once for what I said about Sky even though he is sometimes a huge jerk and has a huge ego" Jack said with a shake of his head, "We should just start our relaxing weekend in respects to Sky."

"I agree, that's what Sky said he wanted anyway" Bridge said as he gave a smile to turn the mood, "Now who wants buttery toast? How about you Z?" Bridge asked turning toward where Z had been standing and then saw that she was no longer there "What happened to Z?"

Jack looked to Syd who looked to Bridge who then looked to Jack and they all had a look of confusion. "Maybe she needed to go to the bathroom?" Syd suggest and the others nodded "Lets just get this movie going without her, I am sure she wouldn't mind."

xxxxxxx

Z had left the room as soon as she could after knowing Sky's mother was sick and headed straight for his room. As she was making her way to his room she had bumped into none other than Sky himself. "Sorry Sky I was just coming to see you; I heard about your mom…" Z stated looking to the floor.

"Bridge can't keep his mouth shut for a weekend" Sky said with a sigh and looked to Z, "I really should get going."

"You shouldn't be heading home alone in a situation like this. Let me come with you" Z said sincerely. Sky had given her a look of shock and she herself was even surprised with what she had just said.

"I appreciate that you want to help Z but I don't need a pity parade" Sky said regaining his self composure and putting up that wall of his.

"Sky I am not trying to give you pity I am trying to be there for you. To be your friend and I know you well enough now that you don't want to go face your mom alone" Z said as she put her hand on his shoulder "Let me come with you and we can face this together."

Sky gave a sigh and knew she was right, "Okay Z, you win. Pack a bag and lets go" Sky said with a nod.

"Alright give me a minute" Z grinned and headed to her room and grabbed her yellow duffle bag and put in some clothing and then went right back to where Sky was, "So now I get to see the real life style of the mysterious blue ranger."

"Yeah, about that I should warn you I have a somewhat rich family" Sky said with an uneasy look, he never did like sharing his family's wealth status.

"Oh really?" Z question with a grin, "I never pictured Sky Tate as the rich boy type."

Sky shook his head at Z and headed out to the SPD garage and took his bag and Z's bag and put them into the Jeep and then got into the driver's seat. "Let's get going Z."

Z grinned and got into the passengers seat and as soon as Z got into the Jeep Sky put the Jeep in gear and started driving off. The start of the ride was completely silent and slowly started to have a build up of tension. Finally Z couldn't take the silence anymore and had to start some small talk, "If you don't mind me asking Sky, what's wrong with your mom?"

Sky's grip on the steering wheel got tighter and she sighed, "I just know she is sick, I got a call from out butler Hobson telling me that I needed to see her. I assume she doesn't have long if they are asking me to come home."

"When did you last see her?" Z asked curiously "It had to of been recent, didn't she show any signs of sickness?"

Sky gave a look of sadness and responded, "I haven't gone home much since I came to SPD, it reminded me too much of my father…" Sky trailed off and gripped the steering wheel more "You should rest we have a bit of ways to go before getting there, and trust me you will need the rest once you reach my home."

"That's horrible Sky… I mean understandable but still horrible. I will rest though just make sure I wake up" Z said with a genuine smile and closed her eyes.

With a sigh Sky continue to drive in peace as he watched Z fall into slumber. It was nice having someone with him to go home. His only worry was him mother would get wrong idea about him and Z. Not that he would mind being accused of dating Z like his mother most likely will assume. After about an hour of driving Sky had finally reached the gat to his home as he approached the intercom to the gate he punched in the code and watched the gate slowly open. He then drove up the perfectly paved driveway and once fully up the driveway he parked the Jeep and then looked to Z. She was still asleep and it was one of the best moments of his life seeing her sleeping form right now. Reluctantly Sky shook Z to wake her up, "Z we are here."

Z had slowly stirred awake in her seat and when she fully opened her eyes she was awestruck at the home she was not in front of. It was by far the biggest house she has ever set foot near and was by far the most beautiful surrounding she ever witnessed. She wondered why Sky would never want to come home to such an amazing surrounding. "Wow this is beautiful Sky, how could you not take any of us here before."

Sky chuckled at Z's amazement and shut off the Jeep and got the luggage out and waited for her to come out of the Jeep. "You know you should feel honored you are first ever to see my house" Sky grinned and went over to Z, "So ready to face my mother and butler?"

"It not too difficult, it not like we dating" Z said with a laugh and Sky had shared laughter with her.

Sky led the way to the door and once at the door he rang the doorbell and was greeted by Hobson, "Master Tate, it is so good to see you" Hobson said with a smile and looked to Z and was lost for words, "Oh my who is this lovely lady?"

"Please Hobson call me Sky, you know I don't like that formality" Sky said with a grin, "Hobson I would like you to meet my friend Z, she has decided to come with me to see mom."

"Master Tate… I mean Sky with all do respect I do rather stick to formalities" Hobson said and turned to Z and smiled genuinely, "Madam Z, it is my pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Why thank you Hobson, it is nice to meet you as well" Z said with a smile.

Hobson smiled and then moved from the doorway and allowed Z and Sky to enter into the house. "Master Tate, your mother at the moment is resting and I find it best that you wait until tomorrow to see her."

"Of course Hobson, now I hope it not too much trouble for you to show Z to her room" Sky said genuinely.

"Well Master Tate there is a slight problem the guest rooms are under renovation, so if it not too much trouble maybe Madame Z can stay with you in your room" Hobson had responded in his soothing voice.

Sky looked at Hobson skeptically and nodded, "Alright then, Z you can stay with me in your room, if you don't mind that is" Sky looked to Z as she nodded to him.

"That's fine I suppose lets get to your room then and thank you Hobson" Z said smiling to Hobson and then looking to Sky waiting for him to take lead.

Sky nodded and headed up the stairs and towards where his room was, he wasn't sure as to what his room looked like now considering he had not been here in such a long time. He could only hope that it would not look like it did in the past, as he approached the door he opened it slowly and much to his relief the room had a king sized bed with a couch, television, a beautiful dresser and a master bathroom connected. Sky walked into the room and placed the bags on the bed and looked to Z who was in amazement of the room. "Not too bad eh?"

"This is an amazing room… So where we sleeping Sky?" Z asked with a grin

"You take the bed and I will take the couch" Sky said as he took his bag and threw it onto the couch.

"We are adults you know we could just share a bed" Z said with a shrug, "Then again you might think that is crossing SPD rules probably and go against it."

Sky shook his head, "I think it better we stick to normal sleeping accommodations of where you have your own bed and I have my own bed" Sky said somewhat hesitant.

"Fine, fine how about dinner then?" Z asked as she knew it was getting late and neither had eaten dinner yet.

"I am sure there something downstairs we can get to eat" Sky said with a grin and took Z downstairs into the kitchen. Once in the kitchen there was already dinner set up for Sky and Z. Sky had a look of suspicion already set on his face as to how dinner was already ready for both of them but shrugged it off. Both Sky and Z sat there in peace eating the dinner that was already prepared for them. Once done with the food Sky took the dishes and went to wash them. Z sat there and watched Sky, it was as though she was seeing a different Sky. As she watched him do the dishes she saw something different about him that she never noticed before. He looked so at ease and maybe even a little attractive when not being a stiff. Before Z knew it Sky had been right in her face, "Z you okay?" he asked curiously.

Z was taken out of her thoughts, "I'm fine, sorry I must be tired" she said trying to make an excuse for her gazing so much on him.

"Let's get you to bed then shall we" Sky smiled at Z and took her hand. He felt a bit of a warming to his heart touching her hand. He then led her up to the room where she could get a good nights rest. "Well I will leave you here so you can get comfortable and shower and such. If you need me I'll be downstairs."

"Thanks Sky" Z smiled at him and watched as he left. As soon as he was out of sight she grabbed her things and headed to the bathroom to shower. While in the shower she couldn't help but think about Sky. She wasn't sure why but he was constantly on her mind now. After she finished showering she put on her pajamas and headed downstairs to find Sky. She had found Sky on the couch with a book at hand as he sat with his back to her; she creped up behind him and put her hands over his eyes. "So Sky, ready for sleep?"

Sky turned to look at Z and smiled, "No, you should head off to bed I'll sneak in and be sure not to disturb you I promise."

"Alright good night Sky" Z said with a smile and hugged him the best she could with the couch being there.

"Good night Z" Sky smiled and then watched as she went up the stairs and into his room to go to sleep. He smiled as he stared at the door of which she entered then he jumped when Hobson came into his view, "Jesus Hobson you scared me."

"I am sorry Master Tate I did not mean to scare you. I just came to say good night" Hobson said apologetically.

"Goodnight Hobson" Sky said and got up and hugged the butler and watched the butler leave. Sky then sat back down on the couch and finished up a chapter he was reading in the book he picked up. Once finished he headed up to his room and walked in as quietly as possible and saw Z sound asleep in his bed. Sky went over toward Z and put the blankets over her and as he did she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Umm… Z… Z" Sky said trying to get her attention and then he saw her stir in her sleep.

"Sky?" She said drowsily "Can you just stay here with me… please?"

Sky stared blankly at Z not able to formulate and answer, "Are you sure about that Z?" he finally mustered out and asked Z.

"Yea, I just need someone here… I am sleeping in strange place and I just feel need of company" Z replied as she was slowly falling back into sleep.

"Alright Z, I'll stay here with you" Sky said as he gently lifted and shifted Z over and then crawled into his bed and took the place right next to her. As he went there she instantly clung to him arm and fell to sleep. Sky looked to his right side at the now sleeping Z and couldn't help but feel like he was in the right place. Without giving much thought he kissed the sleeping Z and as soon as his lips touched hers he felt himself spark and pulled away instantly. Luckily for him Z was sound asleep and had no idea that he had just kissed her. He felt himself become tense with what he had done and he felt somewhat guilty taking advantage of Z like that and kissing her in her sleep. Sky had spent the whole night laying there with Z sound asleep at his side and just thinking about her. This wasn't something he was expecting of himself at all, so until morning he had laid there thinking about what to do and he hadn't come up with a single thing. It had to of been around 10 am when Z finally awoke from sleep but as soon as she woke up he fell into a sleep.

"Sky Tate sleeping in? That's impossible" She said in a teasing tone as she poked at his side and watched as he opened his eyes slowly. She then noticed the dark rings around his eyes, "Did you sleep at all last night?"

"No, I was so deep in though I lost track of time…" Sky replied as he sat up and got out of the bed, "Lets' go get some breakfast."

Z could tell already something was up with him but decided to let it slide for now and got up and went down to get breakfast with him. They had pancakes, sausage and eggs for breakfast. Although Sky didn't stick around too long because it was soon after he finished eating that Hobson came in and told him his mother was awake and eager to see him. Z had offered to go with him, but he said he needed to go first and she could see his mother later if she wished.

xxxxxxx

Sky made his way up the stairs and towards his mothers' room, he was absolutely terrified, he has loved being home for once but then he remembered he was here because she was ill. Sky walked into his mothers' room and as he walked in he spotted his mother who was almost as pale as the true shade of white was and saw how tired her body was. It sent fear through his whole body seeing her like this. He approached his mother from the bedside and hugged her as softly as possible, "Mom what's wrong with you?"

"Sky I am very sick, and I haven't been getting better" Sky's mother had said it so genuinely that you would think it was just perfectly fine, "I wanted you here so that I could see you one more time just in case of anything happening, maybe even you can stop by more often it would mean a lot."

Sky could feel him self wanting to cry but held it back and just hugged his mother tighter, he wasn't ready to lose her too, "I promise mom I will come here more often to see you."

"Good, now what's this I hear about you having a girl too, is she your girlfriend?" Sky's mother asked with curiosity getting the better of her, "If she is your girlfriend I demand meeting her right now, and maybe even get married and get me some grandkids before I die."

"No, no mom Z is just a friend of mine I brought for company and way to pressure your only child for marriage and children, I got to protect the world first mom" Sky said with a shake of his head.

"Yes saving the world is important, but don't let that stop you from what's in here" Sky's mother put her hand over Sky's heart, "If there is love don't hide it because of having to be a ranger."

"Don't worry when the opportunity is right I will tell her" Sky said without even thinking.

"So there is someone?" Sky's mother asked inquisitively.

"Umm… no I meant that I umm would tell the person whoever they may be that I love them when it happens" Sky said trying to shield up his emotions.

"I see… Well how about we have your friend Z join us" Sky's mom said with genuine smile and then shouted, "Hobson please get Z for me"

Within a matter of moments Hobson walked in with Z and looked to Sky's mom "As you requested Madame Tate, I present to you Madame Z" Hobson said and turned and left the room.

Z slowly approached Sky's mother and could already see the pain in his eyes from her condition. To be honest she couldn't blame him for being in pain for the condition she looked to be in. "Hello Mrs. Tate, I'm Elizabeth Delgado yellow SPD ranger but you can call me Z of course."

"It is nice to finally get to meet one of the fellow rangers Sky works with" Sky's mother smiled and then gave Z a hug which had taken Z by surprised but she returned the hug, "Now Sky, why don't you go pack your things and Z's while I talk to her."

Sky stared at his mother wide eyed and confused as to what she requested of him, "Umm… of course mother, I will do that pronto" and with that said Sky had fled the room and went to his to pack up everything.

"Now Z, I can already tell from moment you walked into this room you got an eye there for my son" Sky's mom got straight to the point.

Z looked at Sky's mother completely astonished at how she picked that up from just her walking into the room, "I… I umm I am sorry I mean I am not sorry for being attracted to your son at all but I just I don't know what to say."

"My dear, I think it is marvelous you have fallen for my son I see no reason to be upset by it, I just ask you be careful with him. I am sure you can tell by now that he is a mess" Sky's mom said with a soft laugh, "Plus something tells me he may just be returning those feelings."

Before Z could even think of replying Hobson had walked in with Sky, "Z, we should start heading back so that we have time to spend with the others" Sky said calmly

"Yeah, good idea" Z nodded and hugged Sky's mother and then waited by the door for Sky.

Sky walked over to his mother and hugged her tightly and kissed her cheek, "I love you mom, I'll come by as soon as I can."

"I love you too Sky, now be careful" Sky's mother replied to her sun and kissed his cheek.

Sky headed towards the door where Z was and looked back at his mother for a moment and then went out the door. He said his goodbye to Hobson and grabbed his and Z's bags and headed out the door. Z had instantly jumped into the Jeep while Sky put the bags in the back. Before going into the Jeep to head back to base he looked at his house and was glad for once he had gone home.


	3. Smile

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in the story they do not belong to me I am just using them toward my story.

There was one thing that was considered a very rare sight at SPD; that is of course until recently. Many people used to find it nearly impossible to ever spot B-Squads blue ranger with a smile on. Yet as of lately he had a smile and it had puzzled everyone at the base, but of course no one dared try to crack down onto why he was smiling. Except there was one person was willing to figure out the cause behind the sudden uplift in the blue ranger's life. That person was none other than SPD red ranger, Jack Landors. He had noticed the change in Sky's mood and was determined to get to the bottom of it. The plan was for him to follow Sky around for a day and see what it is that could possibly happen during day to make him smile. So the next day had come around and Jack had gotten up by 5 am just to make sure he could follow Sky from moment he left his room. By 6 am he saw Sky come out of his room in what seemed to be workout attire. Watching Sky head down hallway; Jack followed from a far distance with an occasional hiding in nearby corners because Sky stopped and looked around. Finally Sky had reached his first destination for the night and not too much surprise of Jack when he ended up being at the gym. Jack watched as Sky went through his morning routine through the gym; finally Sky had come to a stop and started heading out to leave. In haste Jack ran down the hall and turned himself invisible and then followed Sky. He had followed Sky back to his room where he entered his room and Jack waited patiently outside until Sky's return. Jack had saw Z, Syd and Bridge all pass him as he had waited there for Sky. After about 30 minutes Sky had finally came out of his room and then headed down the hall again. Jack had followed him until they came to the common room where everyone else was eating breakfast. While Sky had went to go get breakfast Jack had walked down the hall and turned himself visible and headed toward the common room. He had gone in and saw Sky still getting his breakfast and then took a seat next to Bridge. "Good Morning Bridge"

"Morning Jack would you like some toast… its extra buttery just for you" Bridge said enthusiastically as he took a piece of toast and put it in front of Jack.

"Uh… no thanks buddy maybe tomorrow morning" Jack replied as he inched away from the buttery toast.

"Oh well your lose, or more like my gain since no one seems to want any" Bridge said with a shrug and bit into the buttery toast.

Jack laughed at Bridge and then looked over to Z where he saw Sky sitting across from her. He couldn't really tell what they were talking about but he knew the look in Z's eyes. As he watched Sky and Z interact he couldn't help but wonder, _'is this the cause of Sky's smiling'_. Just as Jack had thought that he saw Sky's lips form into a smile and Jack's eyes went wide instantly. Without even realizing it Jack started bursting in laughter which caused Z, Sky, Bridge and Syd to look at Jack confused.

"Jack, are you okay?" Syd asked concerned that something was wrong with Jack since he had a random outburst of laughter.

Jack continued to laugh and then slowly came to a stop and looked to Syd and grinned, "Oh you have no idea how okay I am right now" Jack continued to grin which caught the attention of Z.

"What's the grin for Jack, you look like you about to plot the biggest evil event ever known" Z said with a smirk at Jack.

"I just discovered the greatest thing in the world, that's all" Jack said with a grin and left the common room leaving the rest of his teammates in complete confusion.

Jack had went about his day normally and waited until night fall when Z was off duty to go talk to her about their smiling blue ranger. It was right after dinner when Sky had left Z that Jack moved and sat across from Z in the common room. "So Z, have you noticed anything about Sky lately that seems a bit different?" Jack asked curiously.

"Sky hasn't been acting different, at least not to my knowledge" Z said looking at Jack skeptically as to what it was that had been up with him today. First he laughs randomly in the morning and now he questions her about Sky, "Why is there something you know that you wish to share?"

"Well I thought you would have noticed that Sky seemed to be smiling a lot more lately" Jack said with a grin, "In fact I think it started when you two started getting closer and became friends. If you asked me I would say you have brought out the smile in Sky."

Z had stared at Jack somewhat baffled at the thought that Sky had been smiling more ever since Sky and her self started being friends. It seemed though as she thought about it more that she started to see what Jack was saying and then without even a word Z got up and left to find Sky. She had to get to the bottom of this but only problem was that she didn't know where Sky was. As she had headed towards his room she thankfully bumped into Bridge, "I'm sorry Bridge, I was just heading to your room actually… Do you know where Sky is?"

"It's no problem Z, as for Sky he was in the room as I left it" Bridge said with a smile and then took out a piece of buttery toast, "Want some buttery toast for your troubles or maybe for dinner?"

Z chuckled softly at Bridge and his toast, "No thanks Bridge I ate already, but I hear Jack was looking for a piece."

"Oh really??" with that being said Bridge fled the hall and headed toward common room to find Jack.

As soon as Bridge left to find Jack, Z had headed to Sky's room. Once getting there she knocked on the door and heard in reply, "Come in" with Sky's permission given to her for entrance she walked through the sliding door.

"Z? What are you doing here?" Sky asked confused as to why Z had come to his room.

"Well you see Jack kind of brought something to my attention and I wanted to ask you about it" Z said nervously, "This is going to sound ridiculous, but have you been smiling more because of our friendship?"

Sky started to tense up wondering if his secret of liking Z had been found out, he then hesitantly replied "Well… you see Z, I guess I kind of… well yeah ever since we started being friends I just can't help but smile a little bit more."

Z was awestruck that Sky had come clean about it, she thought that she was going to have to grill him about it or just completely forget it in total. With a smile she replied, "That's good because you make me smile too Sky."

Sky had then smiled at Z and for that moment they stood there sharing a smile together and then Z put her arm on his shoulder, "Now lets go grill Jack about why he was being so observant of you" Z said with a grin not only forming on her face but Sky's as well.

"It's a deal" Sky replied continuing to grin and soon after both headed out of the room and to the common room to interrogate Jack.


	4. Take My Hand

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in the story they do not belong to me I am just using them toward my story.

It was a Friday night and she had been put on patrol; she could be doing so much more exciting things. The plus side of this was that she was on patrol with Sky who she has become extremely fond of. It had been ever since that trip to his house that Z started to notice him more and more as something other than a friend. Of course she would never tell Sky that, but it would always be that way. Unbeknownst to her though, Sky had felt the same exact way toward her. The benefit of being on night patrol with Sky was that they could keep each other company; the down side of it though was that Sky took work very serious. Sky had made her way out of the room and to the common room which was empty since the rest of the team was probably sound asleep or at least relaxing in their rooms right now. In a matter of moments Sky had walked into the common room where Z was and gave her a smile, "Ready for patrol?"

"As ready as anyone can be to learn they are on night patrol and not get to sleep until like 3 am" Z said with a frown, she didn't like the idea of going to bed at 3 am and then getting up around 8 am for Jack to work them to bone.

"Don't worry Z I am sure we will get done before 3" Sky said with a genuine smile, "Now lets head out so I can make sure we done before 3."

Z couldn't help but feel her self melt a little on the inside with Sky's smile, it was her favorite sight. "Alright lets go" Z finally replied and headed out of the common room with Sky making way toward the exit of SPD. Once outside they hadn't really said a word which she expected since it was work associated and Sky took his job very serious. It wasn't until we were downtown that Z thought she heard something toward an old building. "Sky I think I hear something in the building, I'm going to go check it out. You keep watch out here while I do so just incase."

Sky hesitantly nodded and watched Z head into the building and then within a matter of moments he saw her come back out, "All clear?"

"Yeah, must have been a cat or something" Z said with a chuckle.

Sky couldn't help but laugh himself but he got back to being serious, "That's good, we should get back to patrol."

Z sighed and reluctantly nodded to Sky as they headed towards the downtown park where they would continue their patrol, "Would it be so bad if we talked a bit as we patrolled?"

"Well… I mean it wouldn't hurt for us to talk but we are probably more aware of surroundings if we are quiet" Sky replied noticing that the silence between them had probably started to bug Z; in fact it was even bothering him not talking to her.

"Well can't we just talk for a little bit, please?" Z said with a pout she felt herself falling into insanity from lack of communication.

"Well… okay but only cause you sound like you about to go crazy or replicate yourself and start talking to one of them" Sky said with a grin.

"Did you just crack a joke while on duty Sky??" Z said in complete shock, "You must be an imposter."

"What??? I am not allowed to make jokes now?" Sky retaliated with a frown now on his face, "You said you wanted to talk but for that no more talking."

"What!!! You can't do this" Z said as she folded her arms across her chest and waited for Sky to reply but he said nothing, "Fine be that way, jerk."

Sky shook his head in amusement as they made their way towards the lake to continue their patrol. Then Sky and Z both heard something moving swiftly near by causing both to get into defensive mode. Both scanned the area looking for the source when all the sudden a bunny hopped out from a tree causing Z to fall back and land into lake. Sky couldn't help but burst into laughter at what just happened. He stopped laughing though when he heard Z shout she can't swim, and in haste Sky went to side of lake and extended his arm out, "Take my hand Z!"

Z struggled with keeping herself afloat in the lake and she could see Sky's hand near her face. With great difficulty she grabbed his hand and felt herself get pulled out of the water and into Sky's warm embrace. He was holding onto her for dear life it seemed and he still hadn't let go of her hand, "Sky I'm okay now and thanks for giving me a hand."

Sky nodded but still held onto Z because he had felt an extreme fear run through him that she could have drowned had he not been on patrol with her. The thought of losing her scared him and make him only hold on tighter.

"Sky… it's okay to let go now" Z said looking at Sky curiously trying to discover what it was going through his mind.

"Oh… jeez I am sorry Z…" Sky stammered as he then let go of Z and got up and once again offered his hand to her to help her up.

Z smiled lightly at Sky and took his hand as he helped her up, "So gave you a scare did I?" Z asked grinning.

"Yeah… you did, I am glad you are okay though" Sky said with a smile and without thinking hugged Z tightly.

Z was somewhat shocked to the sudden embracement from Sky but she returned the hug, "There something wrong Sky?"

"No nothing is wrong, I am just glad you took my hand when I offered it to you" Sky said with a smile and then let go of the embrace him and Z were in.

"Oh, well I will always take your hand whenever it is offered" Z said with a smile but felt saddened that Sky had left the embrace.

"Oh really now?" Sky questioned but then followed it up with, "Then how about you take my hand and we head back to base."

Z smiled at Sky and responded, "Gladly" as she said that she took Sky's hand and they headed back to the base hand-in-hand.


	5. Routine

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in the story they do not belong to me I am just using them toward my story.

It was 9 am and Bridge had been getting out of bed when he looked to Sky's bed and noticed that his friend had still been in bed. This was extremely rare seeing as Sky had a routine that he had never broken before. He would wake up around 6 am and change his clothes and head to the gym for a few hours. Once done at gym, he would usually be in shower by the time Bridge woke up. Then once they were both dressed and ready they would head to common room to get breakfast and go about the day's activities. Bridge was scared for Sky never fell out of routine; unsure of what to do Bridge went and removed Sky's blanket and found his comrade encased in his own force field. "Sky!!!" Bridge shouted trying in desperate hope to get the blue ranger to open his eyes, but nothing. In panic Bridge ran out of the room to find Kat. He entered the lab with short breath and said with great difficult, "Sky… he… he needs help Kat."

Kat looked at Bridge curiously, "Bridge… what's wrong with Sky?" she questioned the ranger before doing anything.

"He encased himself in his own force field Kat, we got to do something" Bridge said panicked and then ran back to his room leaving a very stunned Kat.

Within a matter of moment Kat contacted Doggie and told him of the situation of his blue ranger and then she got Dr. Felix and brought a stretcher to Sky's room. By time she reached his room with the stretcher all the members of B-Squad were surrounding Bridge and Sky's room with concerned looks and if she didn't know any better she thought that Z and Syd were going to cry. "Watch out guys" Kat demanded as she went into the room and saw Bridge, Doggie and Sky laying encased in his force field. Judging by looks of things moving Sky to the stretcher to get to medical wing was not going to be simple task. Kat poked her head outside the door of Sky and Bridge's room and looked to Jack, "We are going to need your help in here Jack."

Jack nodded and walked inside the room and saw Sky in a position he never thought he would see the blue ranger in. It seemed as though his own power had went against him and it wasn't looking good, "What you need us to do Kat?" Jack questioned instantly having his leadership kick in.

"Doggie, Jack and Bridge I need you three to carefully lift Sky up using the mattress of his bed. Don't touch the force field and carry him out here to stretcher with the mattress" Kat directed the three men and watched as all three of them carefully lifted Sky by the mattress and made their way to hall and placed the mattress down on the stretcher. Kat followed them out and had the three men carry the stretcher to medical wing and place Sky on a nearby empty cot. Once Sky was placed down Dr. Felix walked in and made Bridge, Doggie and Jack all leave so they could start finding a way to remove the force field around Sky.

Meanwhile in the common room Syd and Z sat on the couch neither making a sound or even making eye contact. They were absolutely terrified to see Sky in condition he was and all they wanted to know was more information. As they sat there Bridge and Jack walked in slowly. Z instantly got up and looked to them both, "What's wrong with Sky?" she demanded to be told something.

Jack looked to Z and frowned and replied, "We don't know… Dr. Felix kicked us all out so they could find a way to get him out of his force field. They wouldn't tell us anything" Jack looked to the floor knowing as leader he had to be strong.

"This can't be happening…" Z said sadly and left the common room heading for her room.

Jack was about to follow her but Syd stopped him, "This is a girl talk situation, no offense Jack" Syd said with a genuine smile and left the common room in pursue of her roommate. Syd had followed Z all the way back to their room and had found Z curled into a ball on her bed. Instinctively Syd knew something was up so she sat on her bed and looked to Z, "What's wrong Z? Sky will be fine you know that he is tough enough to make it out fine."

Z shook her head at Syd, "He doesn't deserve to go through this and I can't even help him" Z said as she tried to fight off tears she didn't need Syd knowing her feelings for Sky.

"Z is there something you want to talk about… involving Sky" Syd said trying not to grin at the fact she had already noticed that her friend in yellow had fallen for the SPD hunk of a blue ranger.

"If I tell you… you promise not to tell anyone especially Sky" Z said sitting up and looking to Syd.

"I promise Z that whatever you have to say will not leave this room" Syd said in a reassuring tone.

"Okay… don't laugh but Syd I think… well no I know that ever since I went with Sky to see his mom that I have fallen for him… I didn't mean for it to happen but it did" Z said with a frown on her face, "I know it against SPD rule book and that is why I never told Sky… besides the fact he wouldn't believe me."

Syd couldn't help but grin at Z, "Its okay Z to be afraid especially right now… don't worry you got the whole team here for support, we are all feeling the pain of Sky being like this" Syd hugged Z in an embrace and let her friend let silent tears fall.

Meanwhile in the medical wing Dr. Felix and Kat stood dumbfounded; they had absolutely no idea how Sky even put himself in this position let alone how to get him out of it. Then it dawned on Kat that maybe Jack could use his power to go through force field and take a blood sample of Sky for them. So in haste Kat went to common room and grabbed Jack and headed right back into Sky's medical room and handed Jack a syringe. "Jack we need you to use your powers to faze through sky's force field and use the syringe to take a blood sample."

Jack only nodded and did as he was told and put the syringe in his right hand and turned his right hand invisible along with the syringe and went through the force field. Once he was through he fumbled with the syringe too much to be able to get a blood sample. Then Jack had an idea of his own and using his being passed the force field to his advantage put both of his arms through the force field and started to shake Sky. Somewhere in the whole process of shaking him did Sky's force field finally had disappeared, "Sorry Kat I know you wanted me to get blood but it was too hard and I just got this gut instinct that maybe if I shook him it would work and well it did I think…" Jack said with a frown.

"It's okay Jack even though it not the way I would have liked it to happen, Sky is a bit safer now that the force field is down and we can start running tests and hopefully see Sky up and running like normal" Kat responded as she guided Jack out of the room and looked to Dr. Felix. Neither one knew what it was that made Sky really put his force field down but they knew they had to get to work. They set up monitors to Sky and started doing the normal procedure's to see if he was okay. After a couple of hours of testing and medical procedures they still had not figured out what caused the encasement of his force field but what really bothered them was Sky not being awake yet. As she looked over the chart most of his vitals were normal, the only real problem evident on the chart was his high fever and according to some blood tests he was normal. Looking to Dr. Felix she knew that there was one more test they should do, "Let's put him in the MRI, maybe there something wrong with his brain…" Kat said really hoping she was wrong. Dr. Felix nodded to Kat and within a few hours they had Sky back in the room. Upon entering the room Sky finally came through and looked at Kat and Dr. Felix extremely confused.

"Why am I here?" was the first question popping into Sky Tate's mind he was in the medical wing with machines hooked up to him and he had no recollection of even coming here. "What is going on? What time is it?"

Kat had rushed to Sky's bed while Dr. Felix went to get the MRI results, "Sky it's good to see you are back with us, you were brought here this morning when Bridge found you encased in your own force field. We were able to get you out of your force field hours ago but you were still unable to be awakened. Do you know any reason as to why this happened?" Kat asked Sky knowing he was taking in a lot of information at once.

Sky stared at Kat with confusion evident all over his face, "I don't know why that happened… I feel great though so can I go back to my morning routine?" Sky asked not wishing to be here at all.

Kat couldn't help but laugh at the fact that all Sky wanted to do was go back to his routine mornings, "I'm afraid we can't let you go Sky, we did an MRI on you and Dr. Felix is getting the results now… We need to know what wrong with you before letting you go" Kat replied to Sky knowing it was going to kill him not being able to go anywhere. Before Sky even got a chance to reply Dr. Felix came in and asked Kat to follow him to the other room to talk about the MRI scans. While laying there in the cot Sky couldn't help but wonder what the others were doing or if they even knew what was going on. He was soon taken out of his thought when he felt someone's arms fall on top of his torso and started squeezing him for life.

"Sky you are okay" said a very upset but relieved Z she had been passing medical wing and seeing Sky's eyes opened made her have to rush in and hug him.

Sky couldn't help but laugh at Z "Take it easy Z you hugging me like I was going to die or something" Sky replied with a smile and put his free arm around Z.

"You looked like you were long gone when you were encased in your force field" Z replied with a frown "but now that you are awake I have to tell you something…" Z started to say but was interrupted by the doors opening and in walked Doggie, Kat and Dr. Felix.

"Sky we looked over your MRI and we found something small but possibly a threat and cause to what happened" Dr. Felix started as he took out the scan and showed it to Sky and pointed at something in his head "You see that, that is what I believe to be a small tumor and it possibly effecting your powers. We informed Doggie of the tumor and told him the best for your safety and return to active status is for us to surgically remove the tumor as soon as possible."

Z couldn't believe what she was hearing and looked to Sky and saw the fear in his eyes for a brief moments before he went back to shielding off emotions, "If getting rid of the tumor is only way I can get back on duty and into routine again then I guess we should get moving" Sky looked to Z and put his hand to her cheek, "Guess what you had to tell me is going to have to wait till after surgery."

Z could only nod and hold back her tears knowing the information she knew and then watched as Dr. Felix and Kat took Sky out of the room and off to the room where surgery would be performed. Doggie had walked over to Z and put a hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry Cadet Delgado, Cadet Tate is strong and will make it through this procedure perfectly fine. Also tell the rangers to meet in my office so I can brief them in on Sky's condition."

"Yes sir" Z said getting up and heading off to gather her teammates so they could all head to Doggie's office to be told of Sky's surgery on his tumor in his brain… It took Z only a matter of minutes to find all her fellow teammates and have them all gathered into Doggie's office. Now they just all had to wait on his appearance in the office.

"Wonder what he has to tell us" Syd said to the others not really worrying much about the situation.

"Maybe he has new information concerning Sky" Bridge said with hope, "They I can have my bestest buddy back in the room and then give him some buttery toast and we won't be a ranger down."

"Cadets" Doggie said as he entered his office and watched them all get into attention from, "I have new concerning Cadet Tate and his condition…" Doggie had started and saw the hopeful look in all their eyes except Z's. "On the plus side Sky as you know was removed from being encased in his force field by Cadet Landors, but had not waken up until about 30 minutes ago. Before Cadet Tate woke up Dr. Felix and Kat performed an MRI on his brain to see if something was wrong. Unfortunately they had found a small tumor in Sky's brain which we believe to have been the cause of his powers encasing him in a force field in his sleep. Cadet Tate agreed to have the surgery be done and they are in the process of removing the tumor right now. I do not want you to be alarmed and I do want you all to continue on with your ranger duties. You will be a ranger down for some time, but not too long because once Cadet Tate is fully recovered he will be able to join you all. That is all, dismissed."

The new had been shocking to Syd, Jack and Bridge while Z on the other hand had already heard it all. They all exited out of the office not saying a word; in fact they hadn't said much of anything for the rest of the day. None of them were informed of what it was that was going on with Sky and had all reported to their room for sleep. The problem was that none of them really could sleep. All they could think about was Sky and the fact that he had to go through surgery for something dangerous as a tumor that was able to cause him to encase himself with his own power. The next morning the instant Z was awake she went to the medical wing to see Sky and upon entering his room seeing him in his condition was actually scary. She took the chair closest to his bed and sat at his side for the whole morning even though he was sound asleep. Then she would leave for her duties and then come back and sit there. At night she didn't go to bed she just sat with Sky. This had become Z's routine for about a week and every time she went she made sure he was asleep. It was about two weeks into this routine that Sky had woken up in the middle of the night and saw that Z had been there at his bed side. Seeing her there made him curious and made him wonder as to how often Z was in his room without him knowing it. It also made him smile because he knew that she cared maybe even cared as much for him as he did for her. Within a matter of moments Sky was once again taken over by sleep and by time he woke up she was gone. A couple days later Sky was released from the medical wing but still off active ranger duty for another week. He slowly made his way into the common room where he knew his fellow teammates would be relaxing. As soon as Sky entered the room he was attacked by his roommate Bridge in a huge bear hug, "Sky! You are back, I missed you now I can get you some buttery toast and we can do puzzles together and now the room won't be as empty" Bridge said excitedly as he then let go of Sky and got the plate of buttery toast.

Sky had then been forced into another embrace this time by Syd, "It good to see you up and about, I think Z was going to go insane without you being around" Syd said with a grin and then moved out of the way.

"Yeah Z was going crazy without you around Sky that she made a routine that revolved around you" Jack snickered and instantly got a glare from Z.

"A routine eh?" Sky looked at Z with a grin, "I would like to hear that routine."

Z crossed her arms feeling attacked by every one, "It was nothing, well at least nothing worth talking about" Z said and hugged Sky hoping to never say anything about the routine she had while he was hurt ever again.


End file.
